Inspiring the Next Generation of Educators

The University of Pikeville Patton College of Education has received an American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief subgrant to offer professional development opportunities to first-year educators in Pike County School System’s New Teacher Academy.

The grant will help UPIKE continue to make a difference in the lives of teachers and their students.

According to UPIKE Associate Professor of Education David Slone, M.A., the New Teacher Academy is open to all beginning teachers in the Pike County School District.

Slone, who has seven years’ experience at UPIKE, previously worked in the school system as a principal and a district supervisor for a combined 29 years. Thanks to the subgrant, he is serving as a mentor to three PCOE graduates during their first year as teachers.

“This program is similar to an internship program for beginning teachers we previously had in Kentucky,” said Slone. “It’s different from observation. It is a mentoring program. I meet with the new teachers and advise them to think about their professional growth plan and the resources they need.”

Slone is providing and analyzing the data from various professional development and formative assessments. He then demonstrates how the assessment data drives instruction and how to engage learners in their own growth. The program benefits the new educators as well as the PCOE.

“I’m also getting feedback for our program,” said Slone. “If I see commonality, I can take it back to the professors at our college of education and we can incorporate it into the program.”

Abby Keeton ’21, an eighth-grade teacher at Johns Creek School, Taylor Garris ’21, a first-grade teacher at Mullins Elementary and Sarah Yancey ’21, a second-grade teacher at Mullins, are taking part in the New Teacher Academy. The group says they have tremendously benefited from Slone’s mentorship.

“We are receiving the necessary training to better meet our students’ needs,” said Keeton. “I’ve already used the strategies he’s sent me about how to deal with behavioral issues.”

The group appreciates hearing about the experiences from Slone’s time teaching and the guidance on how to handle certain situations.

“He has provided support with classroom management and how to navigate our way through the first year,” said Yancey. “It’s hard. Having someone there to assist us is a huge benefit.”

Garris echoes these sentiments.

“I’ve had to really focus on behavioral management this year. My kids had to learn structure, and I had expectations to place on the students and myself,” said Garris. “Mr. Slone has taught us that content is important, but the relationships you build with students are more important. They need to know they are loved.”

Keeton, Garris and Yancey have all built lasting relationships at UPIKE and the PCOE. Garris, a Pikeville native, transferred to UPIKE after finding a sense of community on the campus. Keeton, a Magoffin County native, also transferred to UPIKE, saying she “felt more at home on the hill.”

According to Keeton, the PCOE faculty members’ “doors were always open, and they stayed after hours” to help prepare her for the Praxis exam, which measures the knowledge and skills teachers need for the classroom.

“I felt that I could call or text if I was having a bad day. I feel I can reach out even now,” said Garris. “I was unsure of myself about being a teacher, but they helped build my confidence. I felt prepared going into my career field.”

Yancey praises her instructors for preparing them with real-world examples and not just information from textbooks.

“During my formative years, I had a lot of good teachers and a lot of bad teachers,” said Yancey. “It’s the not-sogood ones that stick with you. I wanted to fix that and make students not feel the way I did.”

Yancey and Keeton chose this career path for similar reasons.

“I’ve wanted to be a teacher since eighth grade,” said Keeton. “I was struggling really bad, but my eighth-grade teacher helped me overcome my depression. I want to be the person who helps somebody and changes them.”

Teaching was an easy career choice for Garris, who always wanted to make a difference.

In teaching, even the smallest things like a smile can make a difference in a child’s day,” said Garris. “I want to be the person that each student can count on when they feel like they have no one else in their corner, and I want that impact to last not only when they come through my class but for many years after.

By Michelle Goff